Looking to “Borrow” an IO-360-A3B6D Case

[Fritz1]

prepare for what you may find, get delivery time and pricing on a rebuilt A3B6 if you are comfortable with the airframe, I a had half of  a combo mag go out on me twice in a R182

[RoundTwo]

1 hour ago, Fritz1 said:

prepare for what you may find, get delivery time and pricing on a rebuilt A3B6 if you are comfortable with the airframe, I a had half of  a combo mag go out on me twice in a R182

Lead time for an A3B6 from AirPower is 18 to 19 MONTHS!

[KSMooniac]

I IRAN'd all 4 jugs on my J at 1650 SMOH, in year two of my ownership and would make that choice again if I had to.  It gives you a great chance to look inside at the cam, and then it can fix all the wear in the valves/rings/bores and give you many more years of happy service.  Especially in the current era of these excessive lead times for every step of an overhaul, flaky supply chain, AD-ridden parts, quality escapements from engine factories, etc.  If your cylinders are first-run, then even better... you should be able to get 4000+ hours out of a set IMO.  

I also agree with Ross about IRAN vs. Overhaul if you're looking to sell sometime soon.  All things being equal, you'll get a smaller pool of buyers for an engine>1500 SMOH than you will at <500, but you won't recover the cost of the overhaul in the sale price either.  It will likely sell faster.  Nowadays, I'd rather buy a high-time engine withs lots of recent use and records, and then plan an overhaul or replacement to my specs and timeline.  I'm far from an average buyer, though. 

[RoundTwo]

1 hour ago, KSMooniac said:

I IRAN'd all 4 jugs on my J at 1650 SMOH, in year two of my ownership and would make that choice again if I had to.  It gives you a great chance to look inside at the cam, and then it can fix all the wear in the valves/rings/bores and give you many more years of happy service.  Especially in the current era of these excessive lead times for every step of an overhaul, flaky supply chain, AD-ridden parts, quality escapements from engine factories, etc.  If your cylinders are first-run, then even better... you should be able to get 4000+ hours out of a set IMO.  

I also agree with Ross about IRAN vs. Overhaul if you're looking to sell sometime soon.  All things being equal, you'll get a smaller pool of buyers for an engine>1500 SMOH than you will at <500, but you won't recover the cost of the overhaul in the sale price either.  It will likely sell faster.  Nowadays, I'd rather buy a high-time engine withs lots of recent use and records, and then plan an overhaul or replacement to my specs and timeline.  I'm far from an average buyer, though. 

#2 came off today to pull the thru-bolt. Looking at the cylinder, there is some light scoring at 12 o’clock that you can feel with your fingernail, so I’m now considering next steps. Jugs are ECI CermiNil, and not good candidates for overhaul.

Edited to add: Cam and lifters look perfect after 36 years.

[KSMooniac]

The 1988 cam and lifters might be superior to new 2024 products...  (although my 1991 factory overhaul ate a cam lobe at ~2150 hours back in 2013)

Is that cylinder going to be rejected?  I don't know what is allowable or not with the cerminil.  How was your oil consumption, and did it turn dark quickly?  How about compressions and valve pics/status?  

 

[RoundTwo]

38 minutes ago, KSMooniac said:

The 1988 cam and lifters might be superior to new 2024 products...  (although my 1991 factory overhaul ate a cam lobe at ~2150 hours back in 2013)

Is that cylinder going to be rejected?  I don't know what is allowable or not with the cerminil.  How was your oil consumption, and did it turn dark quickly?  How about compressions and valve pics/status?  

 

There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that cams of this period live a lot longer than new ones, one of the reasons I don’t want to let it go.

Gibson refers to the CermiNil as disposable because they’re too hard to bore and can only get a “ring finish” with a ball hone. I’m running about 1 qt/5 hours, so while not horrible, it’s on the high side. My oil is dark at 10 hours. As far as compressions, I can wiggle them and get high 70’s and all of my valves look great. I do have a leaky intake guide on #2 that I’d like to replace.

Chuck